5 compelling things about Karachi

Friday, July 07, 2017
Hiba Moeen
0 Comments

5
Things you’ll Immediately notice about Karachi if you’re travelling here for
the first time

Guest Post by Umana Khan

Karachi
is known as the former capital to some, the industrial center to others, and
the evergreen ‘roshniyon ka shehr’ to
most.This city has many layers, which
make it a fine topic of discussion for residents of neighboring towns and
districts. While there’s a lot of talk surrounding what makes Karachi ‘special’
and ‘different’ from the rest of the country, today we aim to uncover the
various observations our Pakistani shehri make when they visit it for the first
time. Curious to find out what they find the most striking? The burger awaam, Sea View or the fancy
shopping malls? Then continue reading to find out!

1)The Chaotic Traffic

The
most immediate difference you’ll notice when entering Karachi is the absolutely
insane traffic! We Karachites are pretty much used to the daily struggle of
spending an hour of our daily commute sitting idly in traffic while people from
different cities find it to be a real tear jerker and test of patience.

When I was visiting
Islamabad, Lahore and Quetta for the first time on my Pakistan tour, I was
bewildered to see that around 9-10 pm these cities gradually start dimming out
and fall asleep. Then roads are cleared up, the streets are silent, and you’ll
fail to see any person in sight.

Good
luck trying to find a restaurant open in Islamabad past 11 while in Karachi
I’ve actually gotten takeaways at 2 – 3 am (safe to say I nearly starved to
death while on my trip!). I’m telling you we Karachites NEVER sleep. You can
always find something to eat or a place to hang at the strangest of hours; and
we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Another
immediate observation you’ll make is that Karachi is one of the more privileged
cities of Pakistan that has been dedicated a reasonable budget for
infrastructure (yeah right!) and development. You’ll see tall buildings, fine roads,
extravagant shopping malls, and sky skyscrapers prevalent here that are quite a
rare sight in rural Sindh and Punjab.

Image Source: http://www.arifhabibdolmenreit.com/dolmen-city-reit.php

4)The Diversity in
Population and shifting Dialects

One
thing I absolutely love about Karachi is our diversity! For anyone who’s
planning on visiting Pakistan for the first time I strongly suggest you visit Karachi first. Only because this
city is like a summary of the whole state, you’ll find people of different
tribes and ethnicities, all living here together.

Sindhis, Balochis, Punjabis, Pakhtuns, and
Pathans make up the population of Karachi and they all speak their native
language and converse with a unique flavor of Urdu. That comes with a strong
dialect of their mother tongue. If you take a moment to observe, you’ll see how
brilliantly diverse and vibrant the culture of Karachi is.

Okay
so we know that Lahore is the food capital of the country (don’t want to get
into the Karachi v/s Lahore debate) but for anyone who has had a taste of
Karachi’s food will admit that it’s frankly underrated and absolutely
incredible.

For
all of you foodies out there I suggest you make your way to Karachi not for the
beautiful sights and entertainment but for simply a food tour. From leading
international franchises to the desi tikka boti and pathan hotel restaurants,
the food in this city is heavenly!

So
that’s it! These are my top 5 observations of Karachi. What else do you thing
makes this city special? Comment below why you find this city interesting or
strange and let’s find out what makes it different from the rest. I’d love to
hear about all your experiences!